Floyd Mayweather, left, and WBC welterweight world champion Victor Ortiz are held back after they tussled during a news conference to announce their WBC welterweight world championship boxing match in Los Angeles on June 29. The bout is scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 17. (AP photo/Mark J. Terrill)

MANILA — “Manny Pacquiao, yes, you’re next,” was the quote of the day as Floyd Mayweather Jr.
tried to drum up his Sept. 17 fight with the Victor Ortiz that way he had drummed it up before.

Mayweather will challenge Ortiz for the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight crown, and yet people seem to be more interested in the possibility of a super fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Mayweather’s latest challenge to the reigning pound-for-pound and box-office king from the Philippines was met with “cheers and boos” according to Rich Mazon of www.philboxing.com.

Cheers that the fight the whole world wants to see might indeed happen, and boos that Mayweather could just be using Pacquiao’s name to sell his next fight.

Mayweather and Ortiz were in downtown Los Angeles last Thursday for a press conference that came after a stop in New York where the flamboyant American call Pacquiao’s name.

“After this fight, if I’m able to negotiate a Pacquiao fight, it could happen,” Mayweather, still undefeated, said in New York.

“Hopefully Manny Pacquiao steps up to the plate and takes the test so we can fight. I’m waiting for that fight to happen,” was Mayweather’s challenge.

Still, a lot of people feel that Mayweather isn’t really after Pacquiao, the same fighter whom he had accused of taking PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs).

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, said Mayweather will never run out of reasons not to face Pacquiao, and risk the possibility of losing that “zero” in his record.

It took Mayweather 15 minutes to challenge Pacquiao in New York, and insist that it’s the latter’s refusal to take the random drug tests that’s keeping the fight from happening.

Mayweather wants the drug tests done anytime, any hour of the day, weeks or months before the fight, but Pacquiao said he’s only fine with doing it two weeks before.

Pacquiao, however, said he can take the tests right after the fight.

“I want to fight him but only if he wants to fight me. I think he’s scared of me,” said Pacquiao after negotiations with the Mayweather camp had bogged down twice.

Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

Ortiz, the reigning champion, isn’t too amused that more questions are being asked about Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.